1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for acquiring an image of an internal structure of an object photographed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of nondestructive testing, there is a conventional technology for acquiring, from an image of an object obtained by photographing the object, an image of an internal structure of the object, by removing patterns expressing convexity or concavity (hereinafter, “convexity/concavity”) on a surface of the object. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2001-266132 discloses a technology for scanning a surface of an object with a line sensor from different positions to acquire information on the convexity/concavity. With this technology, it is possible to acquire the image of the internal structure by removing the information on the convexity/concavity from an image including both the information on the convexity/concavity and information on the internal structure.
However, the conventional technology requires a device, such as the line sensor, for acquiring the information on convexity/concavity, in addition to a photographing device for obtaining a surface and an internal structure of an object. As a result, a large-scale system is required, which leads to increased cost.
Moreover, because the images obtained by photographing and the information on convexity/concavity are different types of data, it is difficult to precisely remove the information on convexity/concavity from the photographed images. Therefore, the image of the internal structure is likely to deteriorate in image quality.